Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

All university undergraduate courses should include a period of time spent studying abroad or doing a work placement.

Do you think the advantages of this would outweigh the disadvantages?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

It is the most argued statement between the groups of people that all universities across the world should give the opportunity to its undergraduate students to study abroad for a given period of time. However this development provides a lot advantages for students as well as some disadvantages. I am partially in the favour of this statement because of some reasons.

Starting with the advantage, studying abroad for some part of course and doing work placement there came with a solid advantage of building strong network across the world. When students will study in abroad universities then the will have the chance to build relationships with people of that nation which is known as making network and this can help them in future for securing good jobs. Also, friends from another country can suponser them to get PR in that country.

Turning to the disadvantage, the major disadvantage which students could have to face is the cost of studying. Suponsering all students for study in abroad and work there can be very cost effective for univerities which universities will make from students and this can make the course very expensive. Some students are not very rich so that they can afford that degree. For instance, india is a countary where most of the students takes admission on the basis of schalorships. Thus they cann't afford that they will leave the hope of cheap education.

In conclusion, there are both the advantage and disadvantage of studying abroad by university side. For my opinion, I would say that universities should offer this benifit for students but for those who can afford that. Thus i think that advantages of this cannot outweigh the disadvantages.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You present a position—that the opportunity should be offered only to students who can afford it—and give relevant points about international networking and expense. These address the topic, but the response only partly answers whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages: the conclusion says they do not, while the opening says you are “partially in the favour,” leaving your overall judgement less clear. The benefits are also under-developed; for example, the claim that overseas friends may help students obtain permanent residency is not explained or connected clearly to the value of a university course. Develop both sides with specific reasoning and examples, then state directly which side is stronger and why.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, separate advantage and disadvantage paragraphs, and a conclusion. Phrases such as “Starting with the advantage” and “Turning to the disadvantage” help signal the direction of the discussion. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow: the discussion moves from networking to jobs and then permanent residency without showing how these points connect. Some references are unclear, as in “this can make the course very expensive,” where the cause is not expressed accurately. Use clearer links between each claim and its explanation, and make the conclusion follow consistently from the position stated in the introduction.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “undergraduate students,” “work placement,” “network,” and “scholarships,” so the main ideas can generally be understood. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling errors make parts awkward or unclear. Examples include “a lot advantages,” “study in abroad universities,” “suponser them,” and “very cost effective” when describing a cost burden. Spelling errors such as “univerities,” “countary,” and “benifit” also reduce accuracy. Build a more reliable set of phrases for discussing costs, access, and career benefits, and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a conditional idea in “When students will study… then the will have the chance” and a reason introduced by “because.” However, complex structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make the intended meaning harder to follow. For example, “all universities… should give the opportunity to its undergraduate students” has problems with agreement and sentence construction, while “Some students are not very rich so that they can afford that degree” does not express the intended contrast correctly. There are also errors with articles, plurals, and verb forms. Practise building accurate sentences with “if,” “because,” and “although,” and check subject–verb agreement and clause meaning.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.